David Mahdi is the Chief Strategy Officer and CISO Advisor of Sectigo. A former Gartner research VP, identity, cryptography and cybersecurity visionary, Mahdi is an industry-recognized pioneer and co-Founder of the emerging Machine Identity Management market. David has helped large organizations tackle digital transformation projects that included digital identity, IoT security, and early-stage blockchain efforts; guided organizations to build internal cryptography teams, such as the cryptography center of excellence; and consulted through IPOs, raising capital, and M&A, among many other contributions. A top-performing analyst, his depth and breadth of coverage made him one of the most demanded industry analysts for clients around the globe. As a market maker, he was instrumental in creating markets and definitions for areas such as Decentralized identity, Bring Your own identity (BYOI), passwordless authentication, Machine Identity management, and privacy-enhanced computation. In his current role of chief strategy officer (CSO) and CISO advisor at Sectigo, David leads the company’s overall strategy, direction, and M&A efforts to expand its leadership in the digital trust space. David holds several board advisory positions for non-profits and established technology providers in the areas of digital and decentralized Identity, post-quantum cryptography, cybersecurity awareness, and blockchain/NFTs.